Connecting Generations

Monthly Archives: August 2016

I have not done a very good job of keeping up with a regular posting schedule on this blog. I blame it on summer time mode. Having a teacher spouse who gets the summer off tends to make me a bit more relaxed about getting things done from late June to mid-August. Now that we’re gearing up for the start of another school year, I’m focused on how to get back on track.

First things first. I’m in the planning stages of a short trip to the Kingsbury Family mecca – Osage, Iowa. I have a meeting in Minneapolis, MN from Thursday Oct 27th – 31st, but I’m planning to fly out on Wednesday October 26th and drive to Osage before the meeting starts. For others who lack a good sense of the geography in the middle of the country, it turns out that Minneapolis is only a 2.5 hour drive from Osage, Iowa. I’m soliciting advice on where to go and what to see and would certainly like to connect with any extended Kingsbury relatives in the area. I know that Cedar Valley Seminary is a must see and of course the cemetery where Wayland, Flora Jane and Annie May are buried. But what else?

Though I haven’t been blogging about the Kingsbury family history, I’ve certainly been spending lots of time sharpening my genealogy research skills. In mid-July I took a week-long course at the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh learning more about how to research Italian genealogy records. Closer to home I’ve taken a couple of day-long courses in Genes and Genealogy – specifically, how to interpret DNA results. It is simply amazing how much information is available. I know that a lot of adoptees use the DNA testing services in hopes of finding biological parents and siblings. Used in concert with available documentary evidence, it can help establish connections with earlier generations that you might not have known about. But for the most part, every time I look at the list of people with whom I share DNA, I end up more confused. Even when the person has a family tree posted on ancestry (surprisingly not very often) and even if the tree is not locked (locked trees frustrate me) I usually cannot work my way back through the branches of a DNA match’s family tree and mine to find the source of the common branch. ARRGHHh…. Frustrating!!!

In his writings, Joseph Bush Kingsbury, my grandfather, describes himself and his Osage, Iowa relatives, as reserved, staid and proper. He attributed much of the Kingsbury personality to the pioneer experience and to the significant role that religion, particularly the Baptist faith, played in their upbringing. He often remarked (favorably) on the more gregarious and fun-loving nature of people he met around the world, including members of my southern family. As a young man he worried about being pious and prudish but most of all, he didn’t want to be close-minded, a trait he ascribed to many of his Iowa family members.

One topic that comes up a lot in the courses on genetic genealogy is something that is often called a “non-paternal event.” This happens when someone thought to be one’s biological father, is not. Instructors are quick to point out that “misattributed paternal event” would be a better term. Obviously if a person is born there has been a paternal event – it’s just that the correct pater is not always identified. This is why using DNA evidence in combination with traditional research methods can result in some interesting findings.

Most of the time, it is very difficult to determine where the misattributed parental event has occurred – probably somewhere too far back to identify. In my three years of genealogical research I’ve yet to find an unknown sibling or even an unknown cousin but I did get an interesting inquiry recently on my Ancestry.com account.

“I am S.P. but was born as Dennis Lee Bill in March 1947. I grew up in Story City, Iowa and through DNA have been able to locate 3 aunts that are still living in Charles City, Iowa. I have a brother that lives in WI and a sister in Houston. My mother Edith M Bill died in 2006 and is buried in Genoa, Illinois. They were all happy to have me join the family. On my birth certificate the father was unknown but it appears that my father may have had Kingsbury roots and lived in a small town near Charles City. Thanks for any assistance.”

I am not sure what led to his conclusion that his biological father may have had Kingsbury roots but his message certainly got my attention. “Hmmm… which one of my Kingsbury ancestors wasn’t as reserved, staid and proper as Granddaddy would have us believe?” I’ve got to admit that “misattributed paternal events” tend to get my genealogical wheels spinning. It’s like solving a puzzle – a real life “who done it” mystery.

In a subsequent email, S.P. wrote that he was trying to get in touch with a Laurel Kingsbury, who has an Ancestry.com account but isn’t active anymore. He thinks she may be a second or third cousin. So if anyone reading this has any tips or advice that might help connect S.P. with his biological father’s family – please share what you know and I will relay it to him.

Keep in mind that the Kingsbury roots could someone without Kingsbury as a last name – i.e. a Kingsbury daughter married a Smith and had three boys and a girl. One of those three boys or any of their sons (also named Smith) could be the biological father. Likewise, when that daughter named Smith marries Harry Brown, any of their sons (all Browns) could be the biological father. So the Kingsbury roots could date back to the mid-1800s and may be really, really difficult to identify.

According to Ancestry.com, S.P. and are likely to be 4th to 6th cousins. Here’s what the our DNA match page looks like:

Inspired by the Kingsbury Family Letter, which is how my grandfather Joseph Bush Kingsbury kept in touch with his extended family for most of the 20th century, this blog recounts some of the Kingsbury family stories as well as exploring the Preston and Bryant family lines.